Nominees for WHC Officers

Jeff Weiss — President

Jeff, a Temple member since 1999, currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors as First Vice President and chairs the Investment Committee. He served as Treasurer, Chair of the Budget & Finance Committee, Co-Chair of the Strategic Initiatives Task Force, Chair of the Solar Task Force, and Development Co-Chair, and co-led the fundraising drive for the Tikkun Olam Values Fund. Professionally, Jeff co-founded Distributed Sun, a solar energy company, in 2009. An early digital media and commerce entrepreneur, Jeff led companies active in online photography sales, renewable energy, cyber and physical security, intelligence and corporate fraud mitigation, mission preparedness and training, software development, and transformational management. Jeff graduated from Cornell University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He serves on the Trustee Council of Cornell and the Leadership Council of the American Council for Renewable Energy, and the Board of the Cornell Program in Infrastructure Policy, and previously held leadership positions with the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, Business Executives for National Security (BENS), SEFAC Council for the Solar Energy Industry Association, the Aspen Institute’s Socrates Society, and Shenandoah National Park Trust. A native Washingtonian, Jeff and his wife Christie raised four children at Washington Hebrew — Teddy, Peter, Catherine, and Nathalie.

Melissa Schwartz — First Vice President

Melissa has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation since 2003 and serves on the Board of Directors as well as the Executive Committee and Professional Development Committee. Melissa has also served as a member of the leadership team of the WHC Hunger Project and was previously the co-chair of the Temple’s Good Neighbors Initiative, assisting an Afghan family in its relocation to Montgomery County. Melissa is a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. With deep experience in emerging markets, Melissa advises clients on cross-border transactions involving complex international trade and policy issues. She is a 1988 graduate of Cornell University and received her law degree in 1991 from Harvard Law School. Melissa has served as a trustee at the Washington International School, a member of the Board of Directors and secretary of the Global Fund for Children, and a founding board member and secretary of The Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Center.

Nancy Duber — Vice President

Nancy has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation for more than 30 years. Among other areas of involvement, Nancy served on the 2022 Rabbinic Transition Committee and the 2023 Rabbinic Search Committee. In the greater community, Nancy serves on the Executive Board of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and on the National Board of Jewish Women’s Philanthropy. A graduate of American University, she chaired the board of directors of the university’s Hillel and also served on the board of directors for Hillel International. Nancy has held leadership roles at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and various other Jewish charities. She also served on Landon School’s board of directors for nine years.

Jamie Hotchkiss — Vice President

Jamie has been an active member of Washington Hebrew Congregation for the past decade and a member of the Board of Directors since 2023. She served as a Mitzvah Day Chair and currently serves as a Shiva Leader. Jamie has more than 20 years of leadership and project management experience in corporate settings. Most recently she served as Head of Research for the Americas for Russell Reynolds Associates, a premier provider of senior-level executive search and assessment. In this capacity, she ran an organization of 100 individuals from Argentina to Canada and was responsible for hiring, training and development, and promotion of her team. She started her career at the Advisory Board Company, a strategic research and consulting firm. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Michigan in 1996. Jamie and her husband Ryan (a Washington Hebrew confirmand) are active Temple members. Their three teenage sons, Brandon, Spencer, and Oliver came through the religious school and each celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Temple. In her free time, Jamie enjoys traveling, yoga, and spending time with family, friends, and her two precious dogs, Sydney and Riley.

Dan Werner — Vice President

Dan has been a member of the Congregation for more than 35 years. He has served on the Board of Directors since 2015 and on the Executive Committee since 2017. He is also a member of the Community Issues and Social Action, Budget and Finance, and Professional Development committees. Dan is the former president of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, which produced the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, and is a former executive producer at NewsHour Productions, LLC, where he created a weekly online news program for middle school students. Dan also served as executive director of By the People Productions, a civic journalism and engagement project, which among other programming produced America in One Room, a historic gathering of 500 American voters for a nonpartisan discussion about the significant issues of the 2020 presidential election. Dan is a graduate of New York University and earned a J.D. and M.A. in Journalism at Columbia University.

Kimberly Wachen — Secretary

Kimberly has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation for most of her life. She attended WHC Religious School, became a bat mitzvah, and was confirmed at WHC; was married by WHC clergy; and as an adult, has celebrated all major life cycle events with the Temple. Kimberly graduated from Duke University with majors in history and accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant. She received a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She is a real estate partner with the Washington office of ArentFox Schiff. She has been recognized as one of the top real estate lawyers in the country by Chambers USA, Legal 500, Super Lawyers Magazine, and other leading industry publications.

Eric D. Reicin — Treasurer

Eric has been a member of WHC since 1995 and has been actively engaged with the Temple throughout the past 25 years. Eric is President and CEO of BBB National Programs, an independent, non-profit organization that oversees more than a dozen national industry self-regulation programs. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that create a fairer playing field for businesses and a better consumer experience. Previously, Eric served as a senior corporate and legal executive assisting publicly traded and private companies with growth, transformational change, and weathering regulatory and public scrutiny. Eric earned a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of Illinois. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Employment Law Council and IABBB, is a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and is Cosmos Club Pension Committee Chair. Eric served as Chair of Lawyers Have Heart benefiting the American Heart Association. Eric and his wife Jodi, a lifelong WHC member, have three daughters — Julia, Jessica, and Jordyn.

Tony Fleming  — Assistant Secretary

Tony is a second-generation member of Washington Hebrew Congregation, is Co-Chair of the Membership Committee, served on the Cantorial Search Committee, is a consistent Mitzvah Day participant, and regularly attends Shabbat services. Professionally, Tony is an entrepreneur in the automotive industry. His company, Fleming’s Ultimate Garage, is a classic, luxury, and exotic car dealership in Rockville that has grown to become one of the largest in the country. In the broader community, Tony works with So Others May Eat (SOME), a D.C.-based nonprofit organization. In their Center for Employment Training, he leads a weekly career development program focused on hiring, training, interviewing skills, and resume creation for people experiencing homelessness.

Evan Winston — Assistant Treasurer

An active third-generation Temple member, Evan’s childhood years included Consecration, becoming a bar mitzvah, Confirmation, and leadership roles in youth programs at Washington Hebrew. He and his wife were married at Temple and are proud to be raising a fourth-generation at Washington Hebrew. Evan is president and owner of Hercules Fence, a multi-faceted company specializing in all types of fencing and perimeter security solutions with a national portfolio that includes projects for residential, commercial, and government clients. A staunch supporter of the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes, Cycle for Survival, Southeastern Guide Dogs, and the Fallen Marines of Bridge Company, Evan also leads campaigns at Hercules Fence in support of local food banks. Evan is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a major in Political Science and a minor in Psychology. He loves to ski, travel, spend time with family, and hike with his dog. Evan and his wife, a former Mitzvah Day Chair, have three children who attended the RJWECC, Religious School, and are active in Temple life.

Josh Galper — General Counsel

Josh has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation for more than a decade. As a WHC Board member, he serves on the Professional Development Committee, has co-chaired a Rabbinic Search Committee, and has served on the Strategic Planning Committee. He has also been active in WHC volunteer days and the civil rights trip for youth. Josh is a founder and partner of the crisis management law firm Galper & Goldberg PLLC and the strategic and risk advisory firm Trident DMG LLC, helping clients navigate high-profile, complex challenges and opportunities that cut across law, the media, policy and politics, and business. Previously, Josh was the general counsel and chief policy officer of Personal.com (acquired by Digi.me), and, before that, a partner at Orrick LLP, where he co-led the crisis management and public strategies group. Josh got his start on Capitol Hill and is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School. In the wider community, Josh serves as vice chair of the Section 5 Village of Chevy Chase Council and, among other volunteer positions, has previously served on the Appleseed national board, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Metro D.C. Chapter board, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee.